Which New Orleans musician was named king of the Zulu parade in 1949?

Louis Armstrong was named king of the Zulu parade in New Orleans in 1949.

The honor came from the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, an African American Carnival organization whose parade became one of New Orleans Mardi Gras's signature events. Armstrong, a New Orleans native and internationally celebrated jazz trumpeter and singer, served as the krewe's king during a period when Zulu's public profile was rising.

Zulu's history reaches back to 1909, when Black New Orleanians created a parade organization after exclusion from the city's established Carnival institutions. Its traditions include blackface-derived historical imagery, coconuts, elaborate costumes, and a king selected through an election among members. Armstrong's 1949 reign is sometimes confused with other famous New Orleans musicians, including Fats Domino and Pete Fountain, but neither was Zulu king that year.